After Mr Clinton’s remarks – which were warmly received – the official US team appeared to shift its position…. They appeared ready to accept that new talks should begin on cutting greenhouse gases beyond Kyoto targets – provided they were non-binding.

Not taking Kyoto seriously has turned the U.S. into a model of laughable carelessness to humanity and society in the eyes of the world.

“To the reticent nations, including the U.S., I’d say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience and now is the time to listen to it.”

Potentially, this could mark the beginning of a return to compassion in American politics. Assuming I wake up and this isn’t all just a dream, tomorrow may be the day that suddenly, there is help for the long-neglected (forgotten)? victims of the gulf coast hurricanes, and – who knows – abolition of the unheard-of-in-modern-democracies death penalty?